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"Azadlig" newspaper correspondent released after five-day detention

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(IRFS/IFEX) - 22 April, 2009 - The appeal of "Azadliq" newspaper Ganja region correspondent Ershad Ibrahimov, who was arrested on 17 April, was considered on 22 April and the decision of Ganja City's Nizami District Court has been annulled. The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) was told by the journalist's lawyer Alayif Hasanov that Ibrahimov was released in the court hall.

Ibrahimov told IRFS that he was arrested due to his article "Eldar Azizov destroys greeneries in Ganja". According to the journalist, he was arrested by the Nizami District Police Department on orders of Ganja City Executive Administration Head Eldar Azizov after the article was published.

Ibrahimov added that a rash has broken out on his body and he was subjected to psychological pressure while he was held in the investigation department.

The parliament tightened legal restrictions on media freedom, broadening the scope of existing criminal defamation legislation in November and amending martial law in December to expand permissible information controls.

Rasim Aliyev, an independent reporter and acting chair of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), died in August after being severely beaten; it remained unclear at year’s end whether the assailants’ motive was connected to Aliyev’s journalistic work.

The current document is a preliminary version of the groundbreaking review of the implementation of the Council of Europe commitments vis-à-vis fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan. The final version of the report will be launched in October, during fourth session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

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